One program we had that eventually became quite useful was a 'sign and banner' software program. You could create and print birthday cards, primitive graphics, banners, etc. I don't remember how it started but some time during my 6th grade school year, I discovered that I had gotten quite good with this little program. I had printed a few things and brought it with me to school to show around. A few of the kids saw it, liked it, and asked if I could print THEM something too. Most of what I had printed was sports related, if I remember correctly. Looking at it today, it would be completely laughable, to say the least. I'm talking the word "Bulldogs" printed on five 8.5 x 11, interconnected white sheets! You know, that sort of primitive (funny to think what my 5 year old could accomplish digitally and graphically NOW vs what I could at 13 back then). But this was the late 80's and printers in the household were still pretty uncommon. So my 6th grade buddies wanted to get in on some of this incredible printing 'madness' I presented to them. This made me happy. But what I didn't expect? They were willing to pay for it! This was really my first REAL experience with American capitalism. Sure, I had run a lemonade stand before. But lemonade stands are an economics nightmare, from a profit margin perspective. Your Mom gives you a handful of nickels, dimes, and quarters, so you can make change for your customers. 2 kids buy a cup of lemonade for 25 cents each. You count your $ and go "wow! we've got like 4 dollars here! how'd that happen??" Well, stupid. That's because you haven't started paying back on that loan to Bank of Mom. But you're already 35 minutes into this business venture, and ready to throw in the towel. So you declare bankruptcy, take the 4 dollars before the bank can collect, and hit the nearest candy store (okay, so maybe that is American capitalism, too.....)
But the printing 'craze' was different. I don't remember my rate structure, but it was something like $1 for a one page print, $2 for something a little bigger, and $4 for super-duper banner that you could mount on your bedroom wall. And right out of the gates, I had requests out the wazoo. Boys wanting sports team banners, girls wanting things with flowers or hearts on them (going by memory here....). But I had to put some folks on back-order! My margins were incredible. Material cost was zero (Dad's paper). Labor cost extremely low, because I'm a sixth grader......My printing business was a huge success!
Mrs. Johnson was my 6th grade teacher. She was incredible. Still my favorite teacher to date. Includes 1st grade all the way through college. Mrs. Johnson was a former newspaper reporter turned teacher. I got the feeling that she had a career change more from a 'clandestine' perspective. I like to think that she decided to teach 6th grade knuckleheads like me, because she enjoyed educating and she enjoyed working with children and young adults. I can only speculate, but she was a lot smarter than any teacher I ever had and she always seemed happy. Some teachers just look absolutely beat down by mid-semester. She seemed to ACTUALLY be enjoying teaching us (what a sicko!).
Mrs. Johnson was fully aware and supportive of my business endeavor. I like to think with her reporting background that she had a real sense of "freedom of expression" and wanted that to emulate to her students as well. Who knows, she may have just had too many other things going on in class to tell me to stop. But in any case, I had a successfull business model, I had a plentiful buying market, I had a rate structure that was tested, and I had zero competition! Life was good! Wow, I'm 12 years old and making MONEY! This is incredible! But then the higher-ups caught wind of it......
About 3 weeks into it, someone higher up in the school system found out. They said that selling of any product of any kind is not allowed in classrooms or on school grounds. Probably a principal or another cranky teacher who was a 'rule follower'! But in any case, they passed the word on to Mrs. Johnson who let me know I had to 'cease and desist.' She was very kind and apologetic about it, but it was over.
It's strange how your brain works, but I heard the words 'dot matrix' on the radio today, and it made me think of this very story. And now I was able to look at it from my new perspective. Husband, Father, Small Business Owner, Advocate of Fulfilling Your Dreams. It's ironic that the Dot Matrix Business Plan was a virtual success and the only thing that got in the way of it was a government related entity. Now, I'm not using this as opportunity to platform on anything politically. I just think it's an interesting, modern-day comparison. At the time, I just thought I had done something wrong and that I probably SHOULD stop. I'm in 6th grade. They're adults. Surely, I've done something wrong. Right?
Looking back. No, no, no 6th grade me. You should be PROUD of your entrepreneurship. You didn't do anything wrong. But traditionally, capitalism and government have always felt this innate sense to seperate themselves. Business says "leave me alone." Government says "we need control." If I could do it all over again though, knowing what I know now, I would have not given up! Never. I would have investigated the issue further. I would have negotiated with the parties that had an issue with my endeavor. And I wouldn't have quit until I had a successful business path. I wouldn't stomp up and down and say "NOT FAIR! It's MY business! Leave me alone, government!" What good does that do? It's America. It's a free market. But the only system only works if you can 'play nice with others'.
Daniel Woods, RLA
The Addison Group
